There was a beat as that untapped realm of potential came careening back around the corner with sirens blaring. Hello, it was time for it to Exist Now.

Oh. Uh. "Oh," he breathed out, his own face warming a bit as he realized the clues were in fact the clues. This felt a little left-field with the rest of the conversation, but maybe it wasn't?

"I haven't like... needed anything," Kai attempted to assure him. Need seemed like a really strong word in this instance. Still, his gaze roamed over the warmth of Shinji's expression and Kai found himself gently biting his lip. If Shinji was the one bringing it up, then. Well.

"Doesn't mean I haven't thought about it, but that's... more of something we should both want, right?"